At the bottom of our world, there is a place that is icy, that is
cold and holds so much of ice that it literally deforms our planet. Yes, it is
none other than our Antarctica. In this list of 225 Antarctica facts, we will
learn about this fascinating continent that you will find surprising and fun!
Let us begin…

Amazing Antarctica Facts: 001-010

001.
Antarctica is not just any landmass. It is actually a whole continent. In fact,
it is a very big continent. It is the 5th largest continent of this world.

002. Our
Earth’s South Pole is located in Antarctic.

003. The
continent is completely surrounded by Southern Ocean. Yes, it is water locked
by Southern Ocean from all sides.

004. Ever
wondered just how big is Antarctica? It is double the size of Australia and it
is way bigger than Europe and even USA.

005. It
we include all the floating ice plains of the continent and its islands, the
total area of the continent stands at 5.5 million square miles, making it 1.5
times bigger that USA.

006. The
whole of Antarctica is a desert. It is the world’s largest desert. Wondering
why it is a desert? For a place to be a desert, it doesn’t need to be covered
with sand.

007. It is the moisture received from the sky that is used to classify a place as a desert. The annual precipitation received by inner parts of Antarctica is 50 millimeters or 2 inches. The Sahara Desert gets more rainfall than this. This makes Antarctica a desert – the world’s largest.

008. Did you know that Antarctica is the world’s highest, windiest, coldest and driest continent? Isn’t that a shocker?

009.
Talking of being windiest, the continent is known for receiving Katabatic or
downhill winds on a regular basis. The wind blows at a speed of 185 miles per
hour or 300 kilometers per hour.

010.
Talking of being the coldest place on Earth, Antarctica gave Earth its coldest
temperature of -89.2°C or -128.56°F. Recorded at Russian Vostok Station back in
1983, that temperature is low enough to make water explode into ice crystals
and shatter even steel.

Amazing Antarctica Facts: 011-020

011.
However, that record was beaten in 2010 on August 10 when the temperature
dipped to -138.5°F or -94.7°C. This temperature occurred close to a high ridge
lying between Dome Fuji and Dome Argus – two summits on the Antarctic ice sheet
known as East Antarctic Plateau.

012. On
July 31, 2013, in a place nearby, the temperature dipped to -135.3°F or -93°C.
That was the second coldest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica.

013. The
continent can also get warm though. The highest ever recorded temperature on
the continent is 17.5°C or 63.5°F. The exact location for this temperature was
Antarctic Peninsula’s Esperanza Base. This temperature occurred on March 24,
2015.

014.
Talking of Antarctica being the driest place on Earth, the continent has
‘McMurdo Dry Valleys’. These valleys are snow-free valleys with humidity at
extremely low levels. The reason why they are dry is that the mountains that surround
the valley prevent the glacial ice to flow in.

015. Here
is something really interesting. McMurdo Dry Valleys is home to Lake Vida – a
hypersaline lake. It is also the place where Onyx River is found, which is a
meltwater stream and is also the longest river on the continent.

016. Did
you know that Lake Vida is considered as a ‘time capsule’ by scientists? The
lake is so saline that its water remains liquid even at a temperature of -13°C.
However, this liquid brine is present below a thick sheet of ice cap.

017. The
ice cap that covers the liquid brine, which is 7x more saline that sea water,
is 69ft or 21 meters thick, making it Earth’s thickest non-glacial ice.

018. The ice cap present on Lake Vida has managed to prevent water and air coming in contact with the hypersaline brine beneath it for many thousands of years, giving scientists direct access to ancient DNA, making the lake a time capsule.

019.
Though it is world’s driest continent, it is the place where 70% of Earth’s
freshwater is present. Also, 90% of Earth’s freshwater ice is present in
Antarctica.

20.
Talking of dryness, there are some ice-free places in Antarctica which have
received no rainfall for over 2 million years.

Amazing Antarctica Facts: 021-030

021.
Antarctica is the only continent on this planet where you will not find any
non-avian reptiles today.

022. The
continent has a civilian town owned by Chile. The town has a school, hostel,
hospital, Internet, mobile phone coverage, TV service and a post office. That
town is called “Villa Las Estrellas”, which translates into “The Stars Town”.

023.
There is no time zone in Antarctica, making it the only continent in the world
without a time zone. This is where geographical South Pole meets with
longitudes of the Earth and hence, any time zone of the world can be used.

024. 15 million years – that’s the time for which the ice sheet of Antarctica has been in existence, continuously!

025. 38
countries in this world have entered into a treaty which prohibit the
participant countries from carrying out mineral mining, nuclear explosions,
disposal of nuclear wastes and military operations in Antarctica.

026.
Based on the reasoning that Husky dogs can introduce new viruses and
microorganisms in Antarctica, a treaty was signed preventing entry of Huskies on
the continent.

027. Mount Erebus is the continent’s second-highest volcano and is Earth’s southernmost volcano. It is an active volcano. This volcano has been active since 1.3 mya (million years ago). The summit has a lava lake and the volcano is home to Erebus Crystals.

028. A new
research has shown that some 40 to 50 million years ago, climate of Antarctica
was similar to the coasts of California of today.

029. Ants are one of the most successful colonizers ever know. However, they have failed to colonize a few extremely inhospitable islands and the whole of Antarctica.

030. Only
about 2% of whole of Antarctica has no ice cover. Rest is permanently covered
in ice.

Amazing Antarctica Facts: 031-040

031.
Australia claims to own 5.8 million square miles of Antarctica. That’s the
largest territory claimed.

032. At 11,000 square kilometers, an iceberg that broke off Antarctica is the world’s largest iceberg that is bigger than whole of Jamaica. It broke off in the year 2000. The iceberg is known as B-15.

033. In
1977, a pregnant woman was sent to Antarctica by Argentina. The purpose of
doing so was to claim a slice of the continent. A boy was born on 7th January
1978. His name was Emilio Palma. He became the first human to be born in
Antarctica.

034. Of
all meteorites found on Earth till date, 64.7% comes from Antarctica.

035.
50-million-year-old sperm cell belonging to a worm was found in Antarctica. It
is the oldest worm in whole world.

036.
Belgica Antarctica – it is the only insect known to be a native of Antarctica.

037. The continent is home to Blood Falls – a waterfall with blood-like color.

038.
Polar Bears are not found in Antarctica. They can be found only in the Arctic.

39. You
can find ATM in Antarctica. Only two ATMs are there. Both the ATMs are provided
by Wells Fargo Bank.

040. With
oldest-in-world continuous state present since year 1904 in form of a
scientific station called Base Orcadas, Argentina claims to be the owner of
965,597 square kilometers of Antarctica.

Amazing Antarctica Facts: 041-050

041.
Antarctica’s actual size is not really constant. During winters, the size of
the continent almost doubles. This happens because of thick ice sheets that form
along the coasts during the winter months.

042. For
our convenience, we have divided the whole of the continent into two distinct
parts – West Antarctica and East Antarctica.

043. West
Antarctica makes up only 1/3rd of the whole continent. East Antarctica makes up
the remaining 2/3rd of the continent. East Antarctica is nearly as big as
Australia.

044. West
Antarctica is not a continuous land mass. It is in fact, a series of islands
that are frozen. These islands stretch out towards the tip of South America.

045. The
East Antarctica and the West Antarctica are separated by a range of mountains
called the Transantarctic Mountains. These mountains stretch across the entire
continent.

046. The
ice sheet covering the East Antarctica has an average thickness of 1.2 miles or
about 2 kilometers.

047. The
Antarctic ice sheet is not really a smooth sheet. It is an expanse of
continuously changing ice. There are massive glaciers that continuously inch
across the whole continent.

048. The
moving glaciers actually create what is known as Crevasse fields that have
cracks that run hundreds of feet in depth. These cracks can be found across the
whole of the continent.

049. The
cracks on the Crevasse fields are often covered with a shallow snow layer that
fool people into thinking that the ice covering is smooth and continuous.

050. The
amount of precipitation received by inner parts of the continent is way less
than the amount of precipitation received in the coastal areas.

Amazing Antarctica Facts: 051-060

052. The
continent is the home for colossal blizzards. They are basically snowstorms
just like sandstorms found in sandy deserts.

053. The
high-speed wind is responsible for picking up snow from ground and blowing it
at a speed of around 200 miles an hour, creating white blanket with near zero
visibility.

054. The
seasons found on the continent are very opposite to that found in north. The
continent is in south of the planet, the summer months start from October and
end in February. Rest of the months are winter months.

055.
Antarctica has vegetation but that’s not in form of bushes or trees. The
vegetation on the continent is composed of algae, lichen and mosses.

056. In
and around Antarctica, one can find seals, whales and penguins. Krill and
fishes are also found in the Southern Ocean.

057. The
male Emperor Penguin found in Antarctica is the only warm-blooded animal that
lives on the continent during the freezing winter. The male actually nests on
the single egg that the female Emperor Penguin lays.

058. The
female Emperor Penguin, after laying the egg, goes away and spends time in the
sea. The female will spend 9 weeks in sea only to return when it is time for
the egg to hatch.

059. Antarctica is the best place to find meteorites because the dark rocks are easy to spot against the backdrop of the white glittering snow.

060.
Antarctica was world’s last continent to be discovered (officially) in 1820.
There are however various claims from famous historians that Antarctica was
discovered much before and that there are ancient maps that show ice-free
Antarctica.

Amazing Antarctica Facts: 061-070

061. Here’s
a fun Antarctica fact: Toss boiling water in air and it will vaporize
instantly. Some of particles will however convert in small ice pieces.

062. The
continent has floating tongues of ice. These are basically ice shelves. These
ice shelves are really massive. The largest of them is the Ross Ice Shelf which
is 197,000 square miles in size. It makes up 3.7% of whole of the continent.

063.
Gamburtsev Mountains of Antarctica are hidden in plain sight. The mountain
ranges spread over 1,200 kilometers in length and are believed to be 8,900 feet
in height. The mountains are covered in 2,000 feet or 600 meters of ice.

064. It
is believed that the Gamburtsev Mountains are nearly the same size as the Alps
of the Europe and the speculated age of the mountains is between 34 and 500
million years.

065.
There is a subglacial lake called Lake Vostok on the continent. Well, it is not
the only one. There are nearly 400 such lakes. Lake Vostok is however, very
special. Sitting 13,000 feet beneath the ice surface, Lake Vostok is largest
freshwater subglacial lake in Antarctica.

066. The
average depth of Lake Vostok is 432 meters or 1,417 feet and it covers an area
of 12,500 square kilometers. Scientists estimate that its volume is 5,400 cubic
kilometers.

067.
There is a competitor of Grand Canyon in Antarctica. A rift was discovered
during 2009-2010 expedition, which has a width of around 6 miles and a length
of approximately 62 miles (excluding its extension into the ocean). At its
deepest, it is estimated to be 1.5 kilometers deep or 4921.26 feet deep.

068. The
Transantarctic Mountains that divide the East Antarctica and the West
Antarctica is one of the longest mountain ranges in world with a total length
of 3,500 kilometers or 2,175 miles.

070.
Mount Erebus – a active volcano in Antarctica has been erupting continuously
since 1972 to present.

Amazing Antarctica Facts: 071-080

071. The
first person to reach South Pole was Roald Amundsen. He was a Norwegian who
reached there on December 14, 1911 and planted the flag of Norway.

072.
Antarctica is manned throughout the year. All of them are researchers. In
summer times, the number of researchers peak at 4,000 and during the winters,
the numbers fall to 1,000.

073.
Apart from researchers, the continent is actually inhabited by humans. There
are no indigenous people living on the continent.

074.
Antarctica is also a tourist paradise. International Association of Antarctica
Tour Operators said that in 2011, 20,000 tourists visited the continent.

075. 257
people died on the continent in 1979 on November 28. Air New Zealand Flight 901
that was operated with McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 aircraft was flying over the
continent with 257 people. They were there for Antarctic sightseeing. The
flight crashed on Mount Erebus in whiteout conditions and all people aboard
were killed.

076. One
of the most famous tourist attractions of Antarctica is the Deception Island,
which is basically a caldera of an active volcano. It is a place where people
go for enjoying hot springs.

077.
During the winter months, most of Antarctica becomes dark. The Earth’s tilt
causes the Sun to disappear below horizon during austral winter for the entire
duration of the winter. It lasts from autumnal equinox to vernal equinox.

078. CIA
World Factbook says that during summer months, more sunlight hits Antarctica
than regions near equator simply because the sun stays constantly above the
horizon.

079.
Almost the whole of Antarctica lies inside the Antarctic Circle, giving it a
unique location.

080. No,
penguins aren’t the most abundant land animals you find on the continent. The
title of being ‘most abundant’ goes to tiny nematode worm.

Amazing Antarctica Facts: 081-092

081.
Well, penguins are definitely the commonest birds you can find on the continent.
They aren’t solitary birds. They live in colonies and their colonies can be
extremely large, rivaling the human population in some of the greatest cities
in world.

082. You
also get sand dunes on the continent. In McMudro Dry Valleys sits the largest
sand dune of the continent which measures 70 meters or 230 feet in height and
over 200 meters or 650 feet in width.

083.
Circumpolar Current is the largest current in world that is driven by wind.
This Circumpolar Current moves west to east in a clockwise direction all around
the continent. This current moves nutrients, salt and marine life and heat
among the main ocean basins of the world.

084.
South Pole is located in Antarctica and logically, it should have a precise
location but because of the wobble in the orbit of Earth, exact location of
South Pole keeps changing.

085. When
fumarole cracks in Mount Erebus, hot gas spews out steam, which instantly cools
and freezes right in air forming weird looking towers that can reach up to 10
meters or 30 feet in height.

Note: Fumarole is a crack or an opening in the crust of a planet. Fumaroles are usually present in areas surrounding volcanoes.

086. The
ice sheet covering the continent is so heavy that it slightly deforms the South
Pole, giving the Earth a slight pear shape.

087.
Above Antarctica, there is a hole in the ozone layer. It is the largest known
hole measuring 27 square kilometers. This hole is twice the size of whole of
Europe.

088.
There is something called Antarctic Ice Marathon. It is held annually and
participants need to run 100 kilometers. The marathon is held on ice sheet
located in Ellsworth Mountains’ shadow – just a few hundred miles away from the
South Pole.

089.
Though the continent is full of ice, one of the greatest threats is fire. The
environment is very dry and hence, if a fire breaks out, it will be difficult
to stop it.

090. A
scientist in Antarctica once used Tinder app while being there. He found
himself a date with a girl who was only 45 minutes away from his location.

091.
During the warmest cycles of Earth many millions of years ago, the continent
was covered with rich green forests and guess what? Dinosaurs used to live
there.

092. Did you know that if all the ice on Antarctica were to melt, the sea levels across the globe would increase by a whopping 200 feet?

General Antarctica Facts: 093-103 | Etymology

093. Did
you ever wonder how the continent received its name? The term ‘Antarctica’ is
actually a Romanized version of a word from Greece.

94. The
Greek work is ‘Antarktiké’. Antarktiké in turn is the feminine form of the
Greek word Antarktikós.

095. The
meaning of the term Antarktiké is ‘opposite to the north’ or ‘opposite to the
Arctic’.

096. The
famous Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote a book called Meteorology in circa 350 BCE. In that book, Aristotle wrote about
the Antarctic region.

097.
Later, Marinus of Tyre mostly likely used the name in his unpreserved world map
somewhere around 2nd century CE.

98. Then
came Apuleius and Hyginus – two Roman authors who lived somewhere between 1st
century and 2nd century CE. They both used the term polus antarcticus for the South Pole.
The term polus antarcticus was the
Romanized version of the Greek term Antarktiké.

099. From
polus antarcticus came the Old French
word pole antartike, which was attested back in 1270 CE. The modern French name
is pôle antarctique.

100.
Middle English picked up from Old French and the term became pol antartik. The term pol antartik was
used by Geoffrey Chaucer in a technical treatise that he wrote in 1391. The
modern English term is Antarctic Pole.

101.
Before the term received its present geographical overtone, it was used for
denoting several places that were opposite to the north.

102. For
instance, France established a short-lived colony in Brazil back in the 16th
century. The colony was named as ‘France Antarctique’.

103. The
term Antarctica was formally used for the first time as the name of a continent
started in the 1890s. The credit for this goes to John George Bartholomew – a
cartographer from Scotland.

General Antarctica Facts:
104-128 | Geography of the Continent

104. The
south polar location dominates the continent’s geography. Thus, the continent
is dominated by ice.

105. It
is located in the southern hemisphere of our planet Earth. The continent is
centered around the South Pole but asymmetrically.

106. With
reference to the Antarctic Circle, the continent is located mostly towards the
south of the Antarctic Circle.

108.
Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice sheet in the whole world, covers
98% of the entire continent.

109. The
Antarctic Ice Sheet has an average thickness of 1.6 kilometers. Just in case
you are incapable of comprehending how massive the ice sheet is, here is a
simple piece of information that will surprise you – in some areas the ice
sheet depresses the continental bedrock by 2.5 kilometers below the sea level.

110.
Close to the neck between the Weddell Sea and the Ross Sea, the Transantarctic
Mountains divides the whole continent into two parts – the West Antarctica and
the East Antarctica.

111.
Relative to the Greenwich Meridian, the Western and Eastern Antarctica
corresponds to the western and the eastern hemispheres. However, this
particular use is often looked upon by many as Eurocentric (worldview biased
towards Western Civilization).

112. To
counter this Eurocentric view, many people actually prefer to use the terms
Lesser and Greater Antarctica for Western and Eastern Antarctica respectively.

113. The
West Antarctic Ice Sheet that covers the western side or the lesser side of the
continent has managed to attract some concern because there are some chances
that the ice sheet can collapse.

114. If
the West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapses, the ocean levels across the world can
quickly increase by a few meters!

115. The
continent’s mainland has four volcanoes that are considered to be active. The
consideration comes from the recent fumarolic activities.

116. The
four volcanoes that are present on the continent’s mainland are:

Mount
Melbourne – it is a stratovolcano.

Mount
Berlin – it is also a stratovolcano.

Mount
Kauffman – this too is a stratovolcano.

Mount
Hampton – it is a volcanic caldera.

Note:A stratovolcano is a volcano that is made of alternate layers of ash and lava.

117.
There are several other volcanoes that are present on the offshore islands. One
of them is Mount Erebus located on Ross Island. Mount Erebus has 10 eruptions
recorded in history.

118. A
volcanic caldera present on the Deception Island is known to have 10 recorded
eruptions and 4 other suspected eruptions.

120. The
Lesser Antarctica has four major seas which are – Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen
Sea, Weddell Sea, and Scotia Sea.

121. The
major ice shelves present on the western side of the continent include the Ross
Ice Shelf, Sulzberger Ice Shelf, Getz Ice Shelf, Abbot Ice Shelf, Larsen Ice
Shelf, and Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf.

123. The
major ice shelves of the Eastern side of the continent include the Voyeykov Ice
Shelf, Shackleton Ice Shelf, West Ice Shelf, Amery Ice Shelf, Ekstrom Ice
Shelf, the Riiser-Larsen Ice Shelf.

124. The
East Antarctic Ice Sheet covers most of the Eastern Antarctica.

125. Scientists
have found evidence that there may be microbial life present in Lake Vostok –
the largest sub-glacial lake in Antarctica.

126. It
is interesting to note that it was once believed that Lake Vostok was
completely sealed off by glacial ice for anywhere between 500,000 to 1 million
years. This belief has now been debunked by recent studies that suggest that
large waterflows take place between subglacial lakes.

127. Nonetheless, since the frozen surface has Lake Vostok has similarities to Europa (moon of Jupiter), scientists believe that if life exists in Lake Vostok, the argument in favor of Europa hosting life will be strengthened.

128. The
largest surface freshwater lake present on the continent is Lake Untersee. The
lake is present in East Antarctica.

General Antarctica Facts:
129-170 | Geology of the Continent

129. Well
over 170 million years ago, Antarctica was the part of Gondwana – the
supercontinent. We know that Gondwana broke apart over time and the Antarctica
that we know today was formed somewhere around 35 million years ago.

Antarctica Facts: Events
during Paleozoic Era

130.
During the Cambrian Period (which was the first geological period of the
Paleozoic Era that lasted from 540 Ma to 250 Ma (Ma is abbreviation for Mega
Annum, which means a million years), the supercontinent Gondwana had a very
mild climate.

131. What
is Lesser Antarctica today was partially located in the Northern Hemisphere. It
is during this time that huge amounts of shales (a type of sedimentary rock),
limestones, and sandstones were deposited on Lesser Antarctica.

132. On
the other hand, the Greater Antarctica was located at the equator of the
planet. There were tropical seas where trilobites and sea-floor invertebrates
flourished.

133. When
the Devonian Period started somewhere around 416 million years ago, Gondwana
had already moved towards the southern latitudes.

134. The
southward move of the Gondwana led to a far cooler climate for the
supercontinent. It was during this time that the three mountain ranges namely
Pensacola Mountains, Horlick Mountains and the Ellsworth Mountains in today’s
Antarctica, received huge deposits of silt and sand.

135. Some
360 million years ago when the Devonian Period was near its end, glaciation
started. This glaciation was a result of Gondwana getting centered on the South
Pole.

136.
Though glaciation started and the climate of Gondwana cooled down, the flora
continued to thrive.

137. By
the time the Permian Period had set in, fern-like plants (for example
Glossopteris) started dominating the Gondwana. These fern-like plants usually grew
in swamps.

138. As
time passed by, these swamps came huge coal deposits in today’s Transantarctic
Mountains.

139. By
the time the Permian Period ended, much of Gondwana experienced hot and dry
climate because of continued warming.

Antarctica Facts: Events
during Mesozoic Era

140.
During the Mesozoic Era (250 Ma to 66 Ma), warming continued. This warming led
to melting of polar ice caps. The end result was that much of the Gondwana
ended up becoming a desert.

141. It
was during this time that in Greater or East Antarctica seed fern was
established while large amounts of shale and sandstone were deposited.

142.
During the Jurassic Period (from 206 mya to 146 mya), the formation of the
Antarctic Peninsula started. This period was marked with gradual rise of
islands out of the oceans.

143.
During this period, in Greater Antarctica, cycads (a type of seed plant) and
ginkgo trees were plentiful. Reptiles like Lystrosaurus were also aplenty
during this time.

144. On
the other hand, almost throughout the Cretaceous Period (146 Ma to 66 Ma),
conifer forests dominated the Lesser or West Antarctica.

145. By
the end of the Cretaceous Period however, Southern Beech (a type of tree found
in Southern Hemisphere) started taking over the Lesser Antarctica.

146. It
is interesting to note that during this period, the seas that surrounded
Antarctica teemed with ammonites. Not only that, dinosaurs were also present in
Antarctica during this period. So far only three genera of Antarctic dinosaur
have been discovered which include Antarctopelta, Glacialisaurus, and
Cryolophosaurus.

147. The
supercontinent Gondwana started breaking up during Mesozoic Era.

Antarctica Facts: Breaking
up of Supercontinent Gondwana

148.
Before Gondwana broke up the oceans had longitudinal currents. The currents ran
from the equator to the poles. These currents were responsible for equalizing
the temperature.

149. As
the supercontinent started breaking up and spreading out, these oceanic currents
changed. The longitudinal currents changed to latitudinal currents.

150.
These latitudinal currents became responsible for not only preserving but also
accentuating the temperature differences between the latitudes.

151.
Around 160 million years ago (Ma or mya), Antarctica and Africa separated.
Sometime later around 125 mya (it was during early Cretaceous), Indian
Subcontinent broke apart from Antarctica.

152. When
the Cretaceous Period was nearing its end, Antarctica, which was still
connected to Australia around 66 mya had a nice subtropical climate along with
subtropical flora. Even marsupial fauna was also present.

153.
Nearly 40 mya, during the Eocene Epoch, Australia-New Guinea broke apart from
Antarctica. This break up ensured that the oceanic latitudinal currents kept
Australia and Antarctica separate and isolated.

154. This
break up also led to the appearance of the first ice.

155. The
complete isolation of the continent took place at around 23 mya. This is the
time when South America and Antarctica separated from each other because of the
opening of the Drake Passage.

156. The
Drake Passage is also known as the Mar de Hoces. It is a waterbody that
separates the Cape Horn of South America and Antarctica’s South Shetland
Islands.

157. When
the Drake Passage opened up, the whole of Antarctica was completely isolated by
an oceanic current known as the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. This current
flows around the continent from west to east in a clockwise direction.

158. The
complete isolation of the continent eventually gave ice the necessary leeway to
spread and gradually replace all the forests. Eventually, the ice managed to
cover the entire continent.

Antarctica Facts: Events
during the Neogene Period (23 mya to 0.5 mya)

159. The
continent has been mostly covered by ice since 15 million years ago. That is
precisely what we see today.

161. The
Lesser of the Western Antarctica has very close resemblance to South America’s
Andes Mountain range.

162. Metamorphism (a process in which the geological texture or
minerals of pre-existing rocks change) and upliftment of the sediments of the
sea bed led to the formation of the Antarctic Peninsula.

163. This
metamorphism and upliftment took place during late Paleozoic Era and early
Mesozoic Era.

164. When
the sediment upliftment was taking place, geological activities like volcanism
and igneous (a type of rock which is also known as magmatic rock) intrusion
also took place.

165.
Rhyolite and andesite are the major types of rocks that are found in the Lesser
Antarctica. These are igneous volcanic rocks that were formed during the
Jurassic Period.

166. You
will be surprised to know that even after the ice sheets were formed on
Alexander Island and Marie Byrd Land, volcanic activities took place.

167. Did you
know that Ellsworth Mountains region of the Lesser Antarctica is very similar
to East or Greater Antarctica? This similarity is in terms of Stratigraphy (a
branch of Geology that deals with strata or rock layer study and study of
stratification or layering).

168.
Geologically, the Greater or East Antarctica is way different from the Lesser
or West Antarctica. There are rocks from Precambrian Era and some of these
rocks are as old as 3 billion years.

169. The
base of the eastern part of the continent is mainly formed of igneous and
metamorphic rock platform. On top of this base are many modern rocks like
shales, limestones, sandstones alongside coal.

170.
These modern rocks came during the Devonian Period and the Jurassic Period and
eventually formed the Transantarctic Mountains.

General Antarctica Facts:
171-176 | Minerals of the continent

171. Coal
is the primary mineral resource that the continent has to offer. The person who
found the coal deposits was Frank Wild during the Nimrod Expedition.

172.
Frank Wild found the coal near the Beardmore Glacier.

173. Many
parts of the Transantarctic Mountains have deposits of low-grade coal.

174.
Significant iron ore deposits have also been identified on the Prince Charles
Mountains.

175. In
1973, huge reserves of oil along with fields of natural gas were discovered in
Ross Sea. These are by far the most valuable resources that the continent has
to offer.

176. It
is interesting to note that the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the
Antarctic Treaty has banned the mining and exploitation of all mineral
resources until 2048.

General Antarctica Facts:
177-190 | Climate of the continent

177. Of all the continents that are present on planet Earth, this continent is the coldest of all. Some 34 million years ago the continent had no ice at all but now it is almost entirely covered by ice.

178. In 1983 on July 21, the continent experienced its coldest natural air temperature at Vostok Station of Soviet Union (now Russia). The temperature was -89.2°C.

Note: We already mentioned it earlier but, did you know that this temperature of -89.2°C is 10.7°C colder than that of the subliming dry ice?

179. Unfortunately, since air has only 0.039% carbon dioxide, production of dry ice on the continent will need a temperature of less than -140°C or -220°F.

180. We also mentioned earlier that in 2010, a temperature of -94.7°C was recorded, making it the coldest temperature ever recorded on the continent.

Note: Unfortunately, the temperature of -94.7°C was recorded by a satellite and not 2 meters or 7 feet above the ground as required by the official method of recording temperature.

181.
Precipitation in South Pole is merely 4 inches or 10 centimeters (average) every
year.

182.
During winter months, the interiors of the continent experiences the average
temperature within the range of -80°C or -112°F and -89.2°C or -128.6°F.

183.
During the summer months, the temperature near the coastal areas can be between
5°C or 41°F and 15°C or 59°F.

184. A very common health problem for people in Antarctica is that of sunburn. The snow surface of the continent reflects most of UV rays from the Sun causing sunburns.

185. The continent is located in such a latitude that it experiences continuous darkness and continuous sunlight. This is a type of climate that most of the rest of the world is not at all experienced with.

186.
Greater Antarctica or the eastern part of the continent is colder compared to
the western part of the continent. This difference is because of the fact that
the eastern side has a higher elevation compared to the western part.

187. The
central part of the continent mostly remains cold and dry because the weather
fronts barely penetrate deep into the continent. Weather front is a boundary
separating two air masses having different densities.

188. The central parts of the continent doesn’t get much precipitation but still the ice there lasts for long duration.

189.
Coastal areas get heavy snowfall. Did you know that there are records of 48
inches or 1.22 meters of snowfall in just 48 hours?

190. We
talked about the Katabatic winds earlier but did you know that these winds
actually blow at the continent’s edge and that to at storm force. In the
interiors the wind speeds are moderate.

General Antarctica Facts:
191-225 | Biodiversity of the continent

191. Antarctica
has very few terrestrial vertebrates but they are all limited to the
sub-Antarctic islands. The two known terrestrial vertebrates are the South
Georgia pipit (a sparrow-sized bird found in South Georgia Archipelago located
off the Antarctic Peninsula) and freshwater duck found on Kerguelen or/and
South Georgia.

192. Did
you know that the South Georgia pipit is the continent’s only passerine and the
only song bird?

193. When it comes to invertebrate lifeforms, the continent has microscopic mites (mites are small arthropods that belong to the Arachnida class and Acari subclass) such as tardigrades, nematodes, lice, Alaskozetes antarcticus, springtails, krill, and rotifers.

194. We
mentioned about Belgica antarctica
earlier. It is an insect that is native to the continent. But, did you know
that it is flightless, the largest purely terrestrial animal, and the only
insect found on the continent?

195.Belgica
antarctica is small and the maximum size it can attain is 6mm. The minimum
size is 2mm.

196. One
of the only three birds that breed exclusively on the continent is the Snow
Petrel.

197. The
continent’s mainland’s rocky shores as well as the offshore islands are used by
millions of birds (over 100 million) every year as a nesting place. They nest
during the spring season.

198. The
primary birds that nest there include the terns, gulls, petrels, and
albatrosses.

199. The
continent is known for penguins – the flightless birds. It is a known fact that
penguins inhabit the Southern Hemisphere with Galapagos Penguin being the only
exception that lives at the equator.

200. Of
all the penguins that live in the Southern Hemisphere, most of them are
concentrated on Antarctica or around the continent.

201. Out
of the 18 species of penguins known, 4 are known to live and breed on Antarctic
mainland and its close offshore islands.

202.
There are another 4 species that are found to be living and breeding on the
subantarctic islands.

205. The
most species-rich family of fish are the cod icefish, eelpouts, and snailfish.

206. If
we consider only the Antarctic continental shelf and its upper slope, there are
220+ species of fish. Among them, the notothenioids are the most dominating of
all, accounting for more than 90% of the total biomass and 100 species.

208. When
it comes to mammals, there are seven pinniped (seal) species that live on the
continent. They are Elephant seals, Antarctic fur seals, Crabeater seals,
Weddell seals, Leopard seals, Ross seals, and New Zealand sea lion.

209. The Southern Ocean is the home to 10 different cetacean species of which, 6 are baleen whale species and the remain 4 are toothed whale species. Among the baleen whales, the Blue Whale is the largest that can grow up to 79 feet long and weigh up to 84 tons.

210. Among
the marine invertebrates, there are five krill species found in the Southern Ocean
along with free-swimming small crustaceans. Among the krill species, the
Antarctic krill is a keystone species.

211. On
the entire Earth, Antarctic krill is the most abundant species. They make up
500 million tons of biomass on the Earth.

212. The Antarctic krill often form swarms that can stretch for several kilometers. There can be up to 300,000 individuals in every one cubic meter. Such swarms turn the water red.

213. As we said, the Antarctic krill is a keystone species and forms and important food source for many other organisms like leopard seals, seals, whales, icefish, squid, albatross, penguins, and various other birds.

214. The Southern Ocean also has mud-dwelling worms, sea cucumbers, small marine snails. These organisms are also found in the Arctic waters. Their presence in both polar waters is quite surprising but their distribution can be explained by two factors:

a. They are deep ocean organisms and the deep-water temperature in the polar oceans and the equator vary by barely 5°C, allowing them to easily adjust.

b. Major current systems of the world ocean transport them during larval stages or simply transport the eggs.

215. The
continent has 1,150 recorded fungi species. Out of these, 400 species form
lichens while 750 species do not form lichens.

216. Many
of these fungi species are cryptoendoliths. In other words, they live inside
rocks. They have evolved under extreme conditions and have played a very
important role in rock formation in the McMurdo Dry Valleys.

217. The
continent also has hundreds of species of algae. Majority of these algae are
phytoplankton.

218. In
the coastal regions of the continent during the summer months, the diatoms and
multicolored snow algae become quite abundant.

219. There are bacteria living at the depths of 800 meters or 2,600 feet under the ice. Yes, they live in extremely cold and dark conditions.

220. The
continent doesn’t really support extensive vegetation. There are many factors
that contribute to such a condition for instance, the continent has freezing
temperatures and lacks moisture. The soil quality is poor and sunlight is
scarce.

221.
Bryophytes are the major flora type that can be found on the continent.

222.
Apart from that there are liverworts (25 species), and mosses (nearly 100
species).

223.
There are only three flowering plant species. All these species are located in
the Antarctic Peninsula.

224. The
three flowering plant species are the Poa
annua (a non-native species), Colobanthus
quitensis (commonly known as Antarctic pearlwort), and Deschampsia antarctica (commonly known as Antarctic hair grass).

225. These flowering plants grow only for a few weeks during the summer months.